Scholastic Administrator Names Verizon Thinkfinity a 'Best in Tech' Website for Professional Development

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic Administrator magazine has named Verizon Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org) a Best in Tech website for professional development.

Verizon Thinkfinity, one of eight websites to receive the designation, received the award this week at the International Society for Technology in Education's ISTE 2010 conference in Denver.

Verizon Thinkfinity is a free educational website that saves teachers time and money by providing thousands of free educational resources including K-12 lesson plans, podcasts, videos and other materials to enhance teacher effectiveness and improve student achievement. Thinkfinity also offers a comprehensive professional-development program that allows teachers to sign up for free online or face-to-face training to help teachers make the most of the free resources.

Editors at Scholastic Administrator selected the Best in Tech winners based on information from educators who have utilized the professional development available on the websites, as well as editorial interviews and the editors' personal review of the sites.

Miguel Brito, head of school of St. Philip's Academy, in Newark, N.J., was among those who provided Scholastic Administrator information on Verizon Thinkfinity. "We use Thinkfinity as our main training and learning tool for teachers and students," he said.

Verizon Foundation President Patrick Gaston said, "Verizon is proud to have Thinkfinity recognized by Scholastic Administrator as one of the top websites for professional development.  At a time when many school districts are facing difficult budget decisions, Verizon Thinkfinity can be part of the solution, providing professional development opportunities for teachers and opening the doors to an online world of thousands of standards-based educational resources, all for free."

Verizon Thinkfinity professional development is aligned to the International Society for Technology in Education's National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers. Thinkfinity is also a professional development affiliate of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, dedicated to supporting the integration of critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration, and creativity and innovation into classroom environments.

In addition to a host of free educational resources and professional development opportunities, Verizon Thinkfinity has added many new features including:

• An online Thinkfinity Community where parents, administrators and teachers can share ideas, ask for assistance, discuss the topics of the day, and connect with colleagues and experts across the country.
• Social networking tools.
• Newsfeeds on the latest educational news.

Content for Verizon Thinkfinity is provided through a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 11 of the nation's leading organizations in the fields of education and literacy: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Council for Economic Education, International Reading Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Center for Family Literacy, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Geographic Society, ProLiteracy and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded $67.9 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits.  Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving nearly 93 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 217,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news.  To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon